” This psalm describes an alliance of nations to defeat and annihilate the Jews. Among historical enemies, it includes descendants of Hagar and Lot. It is about the challenge of enemies who were against God and demonstrated their enmity and hatred by opposition against God’s people. The plea of the psalmist is for God to do for them what He had done for Israel in the time of the judges.
The psalmist begins with an urgent appeal to God to take action against those who are united in opposition to them. He says that in three different ways. “Keep not Thou silence… hold not Thy peace… be not still.” The enemies were making a lot of noise about their plans to get rid of the Jews and their God. Asaph’s response is for God to do what they planned against them.
Those who love sin hate the reality of a just God who hates sin and deals with sin justly. When people make their own idols, they think they control what happens. They fool themselves into thinking they do not have any obligation to the true God because they do not believe in Him. Those who hate God want to get rid of those who love and obey Him. The lifestyle and reason for living of those who are believers and live by faith in the Son of God interfere with and, to a certain extent, condemn the lives, actions, and beliefs of idolaters. To express their hatred toward God, they have to show it toward the people of God.
Many of the ancient nations that opposed Israel in the time of the psalmist are now unknown, and the Israelis are identifiable. In my lifetime, the Jews have been killed by the millions of those who hated God and hated any associated with the truth of God and the standards of righteousness He established. During WWII, millions were deliberately exterminated. In all parts of the world, they have been persecuted and despised. They became a recognized nation in 1948 and immediately had to fight for survival. There were wars waged against Israel in 1956, 1967, and 1973. United enemies, who far outnumbered them, openly declared, “Our basic aim is the destruction of Israel.” That is still the same today in the Middle East.
In each of the attacks against them, they emerged victorious. Israel is under constant pressure from nations that hate the existence of the nation. Isolated attacks and occasionally organized attacks are made against Israel. The Israelis retaliate against those attacks and can make them stop by fear of Israel’s strength. When the Lord God of Israel intervenes in history to execute judgment on their enemies, there will be no doubt on the part of Israel’s enemies and the nation of Israel itself as to who is the ultimate authority. Some of those ancient nations are no longer present on the world stage, but they will likely be identifiable in the last days of the tribulation.
As Christians, we are to pray for our enemies and those who “despitefully use you” today. But the righteous judgment of God and the standards He has established will never change. In grace, He withholds just judgment, but His righteous standards demand consequences for sin as they always have. The request in this psalm to utterly destroy Israel's enemies is for vengeance. That included crushing judgment, like a wheel rolling over its enemies and a forest fire devouring all before it. The world will never truly understand that God is God until the fear of God is evident when He carries out justice through His perfect judgment.
There is a moral basis for conversion. Genuine repentance for sin, forsaking sin, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ bring a person to seek God's name. In the final verses of this psalm, there is an expressed desire for others to learn from what happens to Israel's enemies. God’s goodness to mankind is bringing people to repentance, but most do not. Instead, they consider God’s goodness as an entitlement. Affluence has made us an ungrateful nation, spreading that attitude worldwide. To eliminate the memory of a name, the object bearing that name has to be put out of existence. When justice is served, those who oppose will “Seek Thy name, O Lord.”
Adversity is allowed by the Lord so that people will come to the place where they will acknowledge Him. In stressful situations, people often say, “O God, please help me!” Humility brings an acknowledgment of God. Defeat may be necessary before victory can come. Seeking the kingdom of God first leads us to the place where God can truly bless us. The goal of God taking action was not only to secure Israel and destroy their enemies, but also to have their acknowledgment “over all the earth” that God is the true God and that He rules over everything and everyone.
For our learning, we need to remember that love can be and should be firm when the honor of God and His people are at stake. The psalms sung by the children of Israel when they were written have been sung down through their generations to honor God and see Him glorified. That principle and practice should be carried out when the Lord’s people gather at the house of God today and raise their voices together in praise, worship, and testimony. Entertainment and pleasure are not why our “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are sung. We edify, testify, and glorify when we join our voices to honor our Lord.